More and more specialty coffee shops on the market have become popular with soe espresso coffee. Many friends came to FrontStreet Coffee and asked if they had it.soe coffee~The espresso currently provided by FrontStreet Coffee stores is an espresso made from Front Street sun-dried red cherries and Front Street Honduran sherry coffee beans. Soe espresso is not available for the time being~ So it is also espresso, why do we need to blend espresso andsoe espressoWhat? In this article, let’s talk aboutsoe espresso.
What is SOE?
The full name of SOE is Single Origin Espresso, which is called single origin espresso in Chinese. Although it represents single-origin espresso, it does not necessarily equal specialty coffee. If you select single-origin coffee beans with easily identifiable flavors as SOE, you can create espresso with a unique and typical flavor.
For example, the citrus flavor of Front Street Yirgacheffe, the berry flavor of Front Street Kenya, etc. In addition, the espresso coffee will amplify the flavor of the coffee under the high pressure of the espresso machine, so the flavor performance will be more prominent compared to hand brewing. However, although SOE has outstanding performance, since it comes from a single origin, its shortcomings are relatively easy to be magnified. Therefore, factors such as roasting and particle size will affect the flavor. This is why FrontStreet Coffee stores do not provide SOE. FrontStreet hopes that every customer who comes in can drink an espresso drink with a stable and special flavor.
Talking about the rise of this trend, Chen Zhihuang, founder of Fika Fika Cafe, who won the Nordic Cup Coffee Roasting Competition in 2013, believes that the development of coffee to this day is similar to whiskey. From the beginning, everyone only knew the brand and tasted blended whiskey. It was not until the past decade that single malt whiskeys from different regions began to become popular, and SOE has the same concept.
SOE equals Pour over(V60) single-origin beans for espresso?
According to the concept, making espresso from Pour over(V60) single-origin coffee beans is indeed SOE "single origin espresso", but the actual operation is not as simple as imagined.
Compared with blending, espresso made from coffee beans from a single origin is easier to drink with a clear flavor or the taste of the production area. The biggest advantage of blended coffee beans is balance and stability because it mixes several different coffee beans. However, because there are too many combinations, it is difficult to identify the flavor of the coffee bean producing area.
Therefore, SOE should be an espresso with a more prominent flavor compared to traditional blended espresso. This characteristic also affects the selection of coffee beans for SOE. You should try to choose coffee beans with high and strong flavor recognition. If you choose coffee beans with a slightly weaker flavor intensity to make SOE, the espresso produced will be weak. Just imagine, this kind of SOE that has no characteristics and loses the balance and stability of the blended beans will have to suffer.
Secondly, the roasting degree should not be too dark or too shallow. A darker roasting degree will greatly eliminate the flavor of the production area, while a lighter roasting degree will cause the coffee machine to amplify the acidity caused by the light roasting under high pressure, which can easily make the espresso sour. A lighter roasting degree will also make the coffee beans harder and prone to under-extraction. Destroying the flavor of the production area and causing imbalance due to sharp acidity are contrary to the original intention of highlighting the flavor of a single production area. Therefore, the SOE curve of the same bean roasted and the curve of Pour over(V60) coffee should be two different roasting curves.
What kind of coffee beans are suitable for makingSOE？
Fresh and sweet flavor: FrontStreet Coffee recommends using Front Street Yirgacheffe sun-dried red cherries.This coffee comes from Aletaland Manor in Yirgacheffe, at an altitude of 1700-2200 meters. It uses whole red fruits and is sun-dried. It has a very rich fruit sweetness and floral aroma.
Grinding degree: Pegasus 900N #1.7
Amount of powder: 20g
Extract: 40ml
Extraction time: 27 seconds
Flavor description: citrus, berry, fermented aroma, viscous, medium bitterness, medium to high acidity, bright and lively acidity.
Rich aroma and flavor: Front Street recommends using Front Street Honduran sherry barrels.This coffee comes from Moca Manor in Honduras, at an altitude of 1500-1700 meters. It is fermented in fine washed sherry barrels and has a very rich fermentation aroma and dark chocolate cream flavor.
Grinding degree: Pegasus 900N #1.8
Amount of powder: 20g
Extract: 40ml
Extraction time: 29 seconds
Flavor description: Whiskey aroma, soft and high acidity, smooth taste, creamy viscosity, cocoa.
What should we pay attention to when making SOE?
Front Street discovered that many people thought that SOE was a series of single-origin espresso made by directly applying single-origin beans to the extraction of espresso machines. It was not until they brought home various floral and fruit-flavored beans and tried them with a coffee machine that they discovered something was wrong. First, the following scene of squirting appeared, and then I was so shocked by the extremely concentrated acid that I didn't dare to take a second sip. Then I began to wonder if my equipment was too poor, or if there was an error in the operation.
In fact, the reason why you are unable to make the same SOE at home as in the store is probably not due to your equipment and technology, but because the roasting level of this coffee bean is not suitable for making espresso. Judging from the experience of FrontStreet Coffee baristas, choosing a coffee bean suitable for SOE extraction will not only make delicious espresso easily, but also add water or milk to make Americano or latte coffee with twice the result with half the effort. There are two single-origin coffee beans on the Front Street bean menu that have launched SOE versions, one is the strawberry-flavored Front Street Oiran, and the other is the classic Yirgacheffe-flavored Front Street Konga. We only need to check Italian roasting when placing the order.
The coffee machine in the Front Street store is a commercial single-head "Lelit Bianca" that can adjust the extraction by changing the pressure. The maximum pressure can be 11bar. A home coffee machine only needs to reach a pressure of 9 bar to meet the functions of extracting and frothing milk, and is paired with an espresso coffee grinder.
SOE coffeeSharing of extraction parameters
Coffee Beans: Front Street Esai Sundried Konga
Amount of coffee powder: 20g
Coffee liquid volume: 40g
Powder to liquid ratio: 1:2
Extraction time: 26~33 seconds
Grinding scale: Galileo 2.0 grid
Front Street uses a double powder bowl capacity, and the amount of powder is about 18 to 20 grams. When Front Street produces coffee, 20 grams of coffee powder is used.
Usually the ratio of coffee powder to coffee liquid is 1:1.5~1:2.5. The extraction ratio of Front Street is 1:2, that is, 20 grams of coffee powder extracts 40 grams of coffee liquid. The time is related to the flow rate of the coffee powder. Generally, the duration of a single extraction is controlled between 20 and 35 seconds, because within 20 seconds, the coffee usually tastes thin, and if it exceeds 35 seconds, it is easy to over-extract and produce a burnt and bitter taste. Most of the enrichments on Front Street are in the range of 28 to 30 seconds.
First, wipe the powder bowl dry, turn on the grinder, grind out a double amount of coffee powder, place it on the electronic scale and increase or decrease it to reach a weight of 20 grams. Then use tools to spread the powder evenly and fill the coffee powder cake tightly to ensure more stable coffee extraction. Then turn on the extraction switch and release water, moisten the brewing head and take away the stuck coffee grounds. Gently buckle the handle on the brewing head and start to pull down the brewing extraction. When the electronic scale shows that 40 grams of coffee liquid has been extracted, which takes about 28 to 33 seconds, you can pull the extraction switch and get a cup.SOE espresso is finished. We can add a certain proportion of ice water or 80 degree hot water according to our own preferences to make a cup of YirgacheffeSOE Americano coffee.
When making SOE hot latte, Front Street will use a ratio of 1:6. Add 40 grams of espresso liquid to the preheated coffee cup, and then use an espresso machine to steam 240g of milk. The milk temperature is best controlled between 50-65°C. It forms a dense and moderately thick milk foam, and then evenly blends it with the coffee liquid. The resulting Yirgacheffe SOE latte is like eating a lemon-flavored cookie, with a rich and smooth taste. After drinking it, the whole body feels warm.
For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee on private WeChat, WeChat ID: kaixinguoguo0925
You can now buy the above coffee beans online at the Taobao store “FrontStreet Coffee” (前街咖啡). FrontStreet Coffee is a long-established specialty coffee roaster in Guangzhou, China, and its Guangzhou retail shop sells coffee beans only. The shop carries dozens of coffee beans from different origins around the world, including carefully selected single-origin beans for V60 pour-over and espresso. Guangzhou’s FrontStreet Coffee shop is recommended by many coffee lovers.
The FrontStreet 2013 Yunnan coffee beans sold in the store come from the Typica variety grown at FrontStreet Coffee’s own plantation in Yunnan. The name comes from the year the brand and the plantation were founded. You can buy these beans from China’s Yunnan origin at the Guangzhou shop and at FrontStreet’s Taobao store.
FrontStreet coffee beans are freshly roasted within 5 days and deliver consistently excellent quality and great value. Orders placed before 17:00 are shipped the same day, and most areas within Guangdong Province receive them the next day.
FrontStreet Coffee Taobao store: https://qianjiecoffee.taobao.com
Or search for “前街咖啡” (FrontStreet Coffee) on Taobao
Important Notice: FrontStreet Coffee has moved to a new address: 315, Donghua East Road, Guangzhou (coffee beans only)
Tel: 020 38364473
